When you think “salmon”, I’m pretty sure “with Lentils” doesn’t come to mind. Despite my rush to judgment, it still doesn’t seem to be an “entre deux” combination. But after my initial, “Say what?”, followed by my thinking, “Has Dorie gone off the deep-end?”, I settled in to prepare Roasted Salmon & Lentils, this week’s FFwD recipe choice, for a week-end dinner.
A fresh, fleshy cut of salmon, salt-and-peppered, ready to roast.
I purchased a 1 1/4 pound salmon fillet, thickly cut from the center, from our resident fishmonger. Since the French du Puy lentils, suggested by Dorie, weren’t available to me, I settled for generic green lentils which were delicious. Although lentils, like all dry beans, require a sort, soak and simmer, preparing them is quite simple.
Sea Salt from Slovenia, a flavorful addition to the Salmon.
Dorie’s method for roasting salmon was also neither difficult nor time-consuming. Twelve minutes in the oven, at high heat, produced a perfect pink-in-the-middle result. Here is when I want to give a little credit to sea salt! Ardyth Sohn, a friend who recently spent six months in Latvia as a Fulbright Scholar, gifted me with a canister of Piran Salt from Slovenia. (I love when friends bring me food souvenirs from foreign travels.) The salmon filet pretty much was left on its own. Salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil were the only additives. This salt definitely formed a friendship with the salmon to enhance its flavor during the roast.
Since receiving this treasure, I’ve become interested, make that, obsessed, with choosing the right salts for cooking purposes. Currently I’m also experimenting with a Smoked Salt from the North coast of Denmark. My wish list includes Maldon, an English sea salt which is arguably considered “the ultimate finishing salt for salads and fresh vegetables”. Penzeys, a Wisconsin-based spice company, sells an interesting Grey Sea Salt from France and a domestically-produced Pacific Sea Salt http://www.penzeys.com/. Culinary specialty stores, like The Meadow in Manhattan and Portland, http://www.atthemeadow.com/shop/ offer many choices.
Smoked Sea Salt from the North coast of Denmark
To serve this dish, per Dorie’s directions and against my better judgment, I put the lentils in a warmed shallow soup plate and plunked a piece of salmon, on top. After a light olive oil drip-and-drizzle, I sprinkled parsley on the salmon. This week’s recipe is a complete meal. And, to my delight, a delicious one.
Saturday night at the dinner table…….
For our First Friday with Dorie Postings, we do not provide the complete recipe because we encourage you to purchase Dorie’s wonderfully-written book,”Around my French Table”. The book, which costs less than the 1 1/4 pounds of the salmon I purchased this week, is loaded with 300 culinary gem-ipes, providing bonus tips, bonnes idées, and variation why-nots (italicized bonus sidebars, scattered up and down each page).You might try http://iarethefoodsnob.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/dorie-greenspan’s-roasted-salmon-and-lentils/ to view this recipe. To see the valuable critiques of other French Friday with Dorie cooks, go to http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/.
Sounds like this was a hit 🙂
I had to take a second glance when you said that AMFT cost less than a 1lb & 1/4 of fish. Whoa!
(P. S. I have had several ‘gone off the deep end’ thoughts – usually they work out ok…)
Sorry to say that my salmon cost just under $21. Second sellers on Amazon will send you a new “Around My French Table” cookbook, starting at $20.50. Sad but true. I do not know how book publishers stay in business nor how authors buy bread!
Your Saturday night dinner looks so pretty! I love the wine glasses!
I don’t know anything about different salts, but I’m interested to learn. I saw some Himalayan pink salt at the store the other day, and almost bought it, but put it back because I have no clue what to do with it. Your fish looks great! Glad you liked it!
Your cupboards are filled with all sorts of fun things! Sounds like your friends take good care of you. 🙂
I don’t know that much about salts, but would also like to learn. I have a container of the pink Himalayan that I use to finish dishes once upon a blue moon, but other than the regular sea salt for cooking I haven’t explored much in that area.
The dish looks so inviting, and that photo with the bread is lovely. Interesting info about
salt, before I started this blogging I never paid mind to how many different types are out
there.
Your lentils and salmon turned out wonderfully! Great post!
have you looked into Himalayan pink salt and Hawaiian black salt? … That sounds like a great project to me! 🙂 I never would have thought to put salmon and lentils together either but I will now!
Saturday night at your dinner table looks great!
Love the salt! Very interesting!
I agree, your meal looks amazing. And now I need to go off and find some of those sea salts…
Glad you enjoyed this dish!